Head coach Mark Kingston is leading his South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team into Knoxville, looking to finish the regular season strong against the top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.
Ahead of that series, Kingston praised the Volunteers. In particular, he praised how the team hits and explained that their power is what immediately stands out to him.
“Well, it’s power,” Mark Kingston said. “There’s no question. They have five guys that have double-digit homers. I mean, look at the stats. They have five guys within striking distance of getting 20 by the end of the season.”
This season, Tennessee is leading the SEC in home runs, with 134 on the season. Only four teams have over 100 home runs in the entire conference. That’s helped the Volunteers earn a slugging percentage of .620 for the season, one of only two SEC teams with a slugging percentage over .600 for the year. Individually, Christian Moore leads Tennessee in home runs with 24.
While that power is impressive, Mark Kingston also emphasized that the Volunteers are more than power. They’re a well-rounded team overall.
“So it’s a power team,” Kingston said. “They’ve been a power team now for quite some time. And the pitching is under a 4.00 ERA and they field .979. So it’s a well-rounded team. No question about it.”
South Carolina is looking to bounce back after getting swept by the Georgia Bulldogs, another power-hitting team.
This season, South Carolina has a record of 13-14 in the SEC. Tennessee, meanwhile, is 19-8 in conference play, which only trails the Kentucky Wildcats in the entire SEC. However, at 43-10 overall, the Volunteers have the best overall record among SEC teams.
Mark Kingston ahead of facing No. 1 Tennessee: ‘This is nothing new to us’
Taking on a top-ranked team is always difficult. However, Mark Kingston argued this is nothing new for South Carolina.
“It feels like we’ve played top one, two, or three teams all year. So this is nothing new to us. We have played now after this weekend the top seven RPI teams in the country, every single one of them. All seven.” Kingston said.
“So we’re used to playing the best of the best, we’re used to winning games against the best of the best, and this will probably be as big a challenge as we’ve had because it’s now on the road to finish the season. So it’s a challenge, it’s an opportunity, and it’s up to us to take advantage of it.”
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